


Surprises

by TheKinkAwakens (thekinkawakens)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Felines, Gift Giving, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 11:24:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12680901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekinkawakens/pseuds/TheKinkAwakens
Summary: Poe decides to get BB-8 a special New Years gift, but BB-8 also has big plans for Finn and Rey.





	Surprises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [colls](https://archiveofourown.org/users/colls/gifts).



> This was written for Colls for the Fandom Loves Puerto Rico auction. 
> 
> (This story is a sequel to Accidental Catnapping, but if you haven't read it all you need to know is that Poe and BB-8 briefly stole Hux's cat and put her in an adorable jacket Snap made.)

Jessika Pava came from a world where the planet’s new year was celebrated with gift giving. She was light years away from her home planet, but she’d brought the tradition to the other squadron members who were happy to take a break from war and battles. No one had taken it more seriously than BB-8, who beeped about it and nothing else for weeks before and after.

This year was particularly special since BB-8 had two new people to find gifts for. Finn and Rey were Poe’s mates. R2D2 explained that that meant they were the most special humans in Poe’s life. They were almost as special to Poe as BB-8 was. Almost. Which meant this year BB-8 and Poe had to find them a worthy gift. 

To do that he needed Poe and his ‘currency.’ The last time BB-8 had attempted to acquire a gift without using currency he’d had several very upset larger droids chasing after him. If BB-8 hadn’t been built to find the best strategic exits he might not have had any gifts at all to give to Poe.

Of course, for such an important task it was essential that they begin their day before the rest of the base had woken up. BB-8 lurched out of its charging post as soon as the first beam of sunlight entered the room and whirled away to go make sure they were ready to leave. 

Poe was less enthusiastic. “Hey,” he nudged Finn and Rey after he’d finished putting on his clothes and jacket. “I’m about to leave.”

“Don’t,” Rey said. She didn’t look up from the pillow she was spooning. Finn was immediately wide awake, eyes clear and alert, but he remained lying down, curled up against Rey. It had taken him a long time to be comfortable lying down while awake instead of being dressed and at attention within a minute. Slowly but surely, he was breaking his First Order conditioning. 

“I’ve got to go. BB-8 wants me to help him buy some gifts for the New Year, which means we’ll be gone anywhere from an hour to a day. All he’s told me so far is that he wants to go to the Nevuxs trading base,” Poe said. 

“That’ll be fun,” Finn mumbled against Rey’s shoulder. Rey nodded, but he doubted she actually knew what she was nodding to. 

“It probably won’t be, but this is BB-8’s favorite day of the year. Which leads me to the other thing I woke you both up for. Could you two do me a huge favor and pick up my gift for BB-8 sometime today? It can be from all of us,” Poe said.

“Of course,” Finn said. “What is it?”

“I want to surprise him with a pet, I think he’s been lonely since we started to date. And I know he misses Millie,” Poe said. That woke Rey up. He didn’t often talk about the small cat that he’d kidnapped from the General of the First Order, but Rey had seen images of the creature and its small jacket. She still didn’t understand why he’d had to give it back. “I’ve decided to get him a feline he can keep.”

“Right, I’m sure this gift is entirely for BB-8,” Finn said. 

Poe ignored his comment. “I talked to a trader whose ship is docked nearby. She carries all sorts of pets including dozens of felines. Can you go and pick one out?” Poe asked.

“Of course. What do you want as a gift?” Rey asked.

“Rey, you can’t ask someone for their opinion on their gift. That ruins it,” Finn said.

“Did BB-8 tell you that?” Poe asked. “Don’t listen to him, he just likes secretes. It’s fine to ask. But I don’t want anything other than to spend tomorrow with you two,” Poe said. 

“Done,” Rey said.

Poe leaned down and kissed both of them. “I’ve left the directions and some credits on the table. It’s docked near a caravan of trade ships, if you two want to go do some additional shopping as well.”

Despite Rey’s attempts to go back to sleep Finn had her dressed and enroute within an hour of Poe leaving. 

“We have to give ourselves time. BB-8 said picking out gifts is the most challenging and important task someone can take on,” Finn said.

Rey though he took the small droid’s advice too seriously at time, but the two had bonded while Rey was off training with Luke. 

There were dozens of shipped docked at the port Poe had told them to visit, many of them bearing trading signs.  Finn and Rey hadn’t been able to find anything for Poe as they had made their way to the ship that had felines. They’d considered some jewelry, a new tech piece a seller said was all the rage, and some rare cheese that was supposed to be alcoholic. But nothing seemed like the right gift.

The trading vessel that Poe had told them about was the furthest ship at the port. When they entered they were faced with one large wall. They barely had time to exchange a confused look before the wall moved, revealing a huge red room with a tall woman standing in the middle. She was almost twice the height of Rey and had a long tail. She wasn’t a species Rey recognized, nor Finn judging from his expression. 

“Hello, we’re here for a feline,” Rey said. “Our partner was in contact with you.” 

The trader bowed her head. “I have exactly what you’re looking for. Come,” she said. Rey and Finn followed her into the room as a side wall shifted and gave way to a glass wall. There didn’t appear to be anything behind the glass other than a pair of glowing eyes that got bigger the longer they stared. Rey could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing up. 

“A Hrosma tiger, a force sensitive beast from Baskarn,” the woman said. “They are very rare as they often kill each other off on their native home world. However, they can live for centuries alone. A perfect companion for one who is strong with the force.” Rey could feel something in the force twinge at her words, but she shook her head. 

“We’re looking for a gift for a friend actually. A pet,” Rey clarified. 

“Really? That’s disappointing. Perhaps another day.” She flicked her wrist and the wall became normal again. “Well then, I also have loth-cats, tookas cats, spukami, pittens, and felinx. All of them able to kill off any and all small pests you have in your homes. Sometimes larger ones too,” the trader said, grinning with all of her fangs showing. 

“Do you have any felines that aren’t so dangerous? Maybe one less deadly?” Finn asked. 

“All feline species are excellent killers,” the trader said. “What makes one ‘dangerous’ or not is simply whether it's strong enough to consider you prey.”

“Which is the most pet-ty?” Rey asked. She wished Poe had asked for something more specific than a ‘feline.’

“Well, Tookas are the most popular choice. A beloved pet to some, a plague to others. They do well on starships,” she said, flicking her wrist again. The creatures that appeared, while feline, had the face of a frog, with huge mouths and ears that looked like horns. Their fur ranged from violet, to teal, to yellow and their eyes were small and black.

Rey turned to give Finn a confused look and almost jumped when she realized that the trader had gotten between them. “No, I can tell that this one won’t do. You are looking for more of a soft look. Something to cuddle with?”

The wall went blank once more before turning glass, this time the creatures looked more like Millie, but were tiny and brightly colored. They all had giant eyes that clashed violently with their fur. 

“Pittins,” the trader explained. “A common household companion on many planets. Excellent killers of vermin, but if you decide to not indulge them in the hunt, they’re also fine chasing ropes. Their claws and teeth are sharp, but far from deadly for a creature your size.” She gave them both an assessing look. “How big are the young of your species?”

Neither Rey or Finn knew how to answer. The trader just clucked her tongue. “It should be fine,” she said as she got closer to the wall, reaching her hands through the glass and picking up a green pittin and a yellow one, handing them both off to Finn and Rey.

Up close Rey forgot entirely about the fangs and killing comments. The pittin yawned and stared up at her with giant eyes. 

“Do you think this is what Poe meant?” Rey asked Finn.

“All he said was feline, and these are felines. I think BB-8 would like them, they’re small and cute,” Finn said. 

“We have to get this right for Poe. I wasn’t there for it, but I’ve heard how much he and BB-8 loved that cat,” Rey said. The pittin reached out and gently placed a paw on her scrunched-up nose.

“If you’re looking for a feline that is close to a cat, pittins are the closest thing I carry. They are affectionate, playful, and loyal. I’ve never met someone who has regretted acquiring one,” the trader said.

Rey knew she was trying to make a sale, but looking into the Pittin’s wide eyes she could easily believe what she was saying.

“Which one should we get?” Rey asked. The little green one in her arms was nibbling on one of her fingers, its bright pink eyes wide and excited. Finn’s yellow one had climbed up his chest and was curled up around his neck, licking his ear.

“You’ll be getting both,” the trader said.

“But we only came here to get one,” Rey said. The pittin in her arms reached up and grabbed onto a strand of her hair that had gotten loose. 

The trader let out a disapproving hiss. “They do better in pairs. You all are no doubt busy, they will appreciate the constant company. Here,” she pulled out a carrier from behind the next wall and put both the pittins in it.

Rey was still trying to explain that they only wanted one when the woman handed her her chip card back to her. Rey didn’t remember handing the card to her.  “There, I even gave you a deal. You can leave now.” A wall appeared and Finn and Rey were left alone on the other side of it.

“Do you think Poe is going to be upset that we’re coming back with two?” Rey asked.

“Well, we never did find Poe a gift. We can say one of them is his. Win-win,” Finn said. He was dangling his fingers through the hole in the carrier. Rey was suspicious that he was actually counting it as a win-win-win, but then she also couldn’t wait to get the pittin back out and look into its adorable wide eyes again. It was time to head home. 

General Leia caught them in the docking bay. “I was in the command room when you sent in your request to land and declared you were bringing in two additional life forms. I make it a personal policy to greet and pet every pet that enters my base,” she said with a smile. 

Finn gently lifted up the box that he’d been cradling the entire flight back. Rey moved the top enough for Leia to peer in.

“A pittin?” Leia asked, her smile widening. “My family kept pittins when I was growing up. They were a common pet on Alderaan. I haven’t seen one in ages. May I?” 

Rey nodded as Finn handed the small carrier over. The pittins let out several soft whistles

“My aunt had several when I was growing up. My favorite was little AT-AT.” 

“Your aunt named her pet AT-AT?” Rey asked. 

“No. I did. But then, I was seven and obsessed with machines of war. The pittin did bear a striking resemblance to AT-ATs though,” Leia said. “What are these two named?”

“I don’t think they have names yet. They’re gifts for Poe and BB-8,” Rey said.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll both love them. Now you two should take these two back to your suite, they seem eager to get out of their box,” Leia said. 

Finn agreed. “Come on, Poe and BB-8 will probably be back soon.”

BB-8 had refused to tell Poe anything about what he planned on getting Finn and Rey as a gift. It didn’t matter that the gift was supposed to be from the both of them. BB-8’s love of mystery meant that Poe had no idea where they were going until BB-8 stopped and beeped that they were there. 

“An Astromech dealer? BB-8, buddy, we had this conversation already. Getting yourself a new attachment isn’t considered a gift for someone else.” BB-8 beeped in the negative. “Then why are we here?”

Instead of answering BB-8 rolled into the shop. He veered away from the upgrades and rolled over to the side of the shop that kept the actual droids. Once he arrived near the first display he turned back to Poe to beep, “Here. We’ll get the best gift any human can get. An astromech companion.” He whirled down the row of droids, beeping a greeting at each, excitedly introducing himself as BB-8. 

Poe was surprised. One didn’t typically buy someone else an astromech. They were earned on promotion or graduation from academy. Or bought after deep consideration. While Poe certainly had enough credits saved to buy one, most would say that it was a presumptuous gift to give someone you’d only been dating for a few months. But then again, this was Rey and Finn. Nothing about them was ordinary. 

The Toydarian dealer approached Poe as BB-8 continued down the line of droids. “What can I help you with today?” He was eyeing Poe up speculatively. 

“I’m interested in your astromech selection,” Poe said.

The junker’s eyes lit up. “We have the largest astromech selection in the quadrant. Come, let me show you the newest models.”

Poe tuned out the junker’s words as they looked at the droids on display, most of what he was saying was lies, the rest exaggerations. Despite that there did seem to be a good selection of droids available.  

Poe turned to BB-8 to see what he thought, but the droid had rolled off to the back of the shop and was beeping at an ancient R1 droid and a battered R3. 

BB-8 looked back and beeped at Poe to come over.

“Who do we have here?” Poe asked as he approached. 

“Those are junk. Moving spare parts,” the seller said dismissively. He didn’t seem to be aware that Poe had been talking to BB-8. Poe was beginning to doubt that the trader knew droidspeak. 

“They still seem functional,” Poe said, annoyed at the callous tone. The two older droids had scooted back at the trader’s comment.

“Functional, maybe. But not saleable. No one is going to buy such an old model. Their repairs end up costing more than a brand-new droid sometimes. If you want a droid worth your coins, come and look at the newest BB model.”

Poe pointedly ignored his comment.

“Come on over here buddy,” he said. “Let’s see who you met.”

The R1 rolled over with BB-8. Its black paint was chipped and greyed with age and it was out of alignment so it tilted left as it went. BB-8 introduced it as R1-Z9. It politely greeted Poe and asked if it could help him find anything. 

Before Poe could answer the dealer delivered a sharp kick to the R1 unit, “I’ve told you a thousand times to stop beeping at customer's.” He turned to Poe. “As I was saying the newest BB unit will make your current droid look like this old clunker in comparison.”

BB-8 let out a very rude beep, but it was clear that the dealer didn’t understand binary. The R3 unit let out a soft whistle from where it was still sitting in the back of the shop, clearly trying to get the R1 to come back to it. It sounded distressed. 

Poe kept his expression blank. “I think I’d like to browse your selection on my own. I’ll find you if I have any questions.”

The Toydarian seemed ready to disagree, but Poe stared him down until he left. BB-8 beeped something rude at him as he walked away. He definitely didn’t speak droid based off of his lack of reaction. 

“Hello,” Poe greeted R1-Z9. “Have you been in this shop long?”

R1-Z9 was happy to tell Poe about the years it had spent in the shop. As it spoke BB-8 rolled back to the R3. Slowly it followed BB-8 back over, but it didn’t say anything to Poe.

BB-8 pushed himself against Poe’s knees, trying to be subtle. 

“Both?” Poe asked. 

BB-8 beeped an affirmative. Poe took out a bag of credits and the Toydarian immediately reappeared. 

“I’ll take the two clunkers,” Poe said.

The dealer looked disappointed. “You’re one of the people who likes projects then? Fine, but I’ll have you know both of those droids have parts that are very rare now, they won’t come cheap.”

Poe sighed and got down to haggling. 

He’d ended up paying more than the two were worth on the market, but Poe felt uncomfortable bringing up their lack of worth in front of them. He hadn’t been robbed too terribly in the end though, they certainly cost less than a new droid would have. R1-Z9 had helped him haggle throughout, beeping advice on the arguments he should make to get them for less. 

The R3 was R3-B3, it was a shy droid who trailed behind R1-Z9 as they left the shop and headed back to Poe’s ship. It beeped soft answers to BB-8’s questions but seemed scared of Poe. R1-Z9 on the other hand was happy to talk and tell them both about the battles it had seen.

Once they were aboard the ship BB-8 got around to explaining why they were purchased. It was amusing to hear him describe Finn (emotional human, but helpful and loyal) and Rey (reckless, but has good adventures) to the other droids. R3-B3 beeped that it didn’t think it’d be a very good gift. 

Poe interjected from the pilot seat, “Don’t be silly R3-B3, Rey and Finn will love you two. You’re going to become two of the most spoiled droids on the base.” 

R3-B3 didn’t respond, but R1-Z9 excitedly asked BB-8 to tell it more about Finn and Rey.

When they arrived BB-8 made them do surveillance and com Finn and Rey to make sure that they weren’t anywhere nearby. 

“Okay BB-8, coast is clear. Take the other two to maintenance and see if Snap can find any of the parts they need. I’ll go check on Finn and Rey.”

Poe commed before entering. When the door opened he found Rey holding a small yellow littin in her hands. 

“We weren’t sure what kind of feline you wanted, but the trader recommended this breed.”

“It’s adorable, BB-8 will love it” Poe said.

“We’re glad you like it, because,” Finn pulled the green pittin from where he’d been hiding it behind his back with a flourish. “It was a two for one deal, this one is yours. Happy early New Years.”

“The trader said one would be lonely,” Rey explained.

“They’re both perfect,” Poe said. He kissed Finn and then Rey, leaning into them. The yellow pittin took a swipe at his face when he got too close, but the green one was purring louder than an engine. 

“BB-8 certainly won't be lonely anymore,” Finn said.

Poe pulled back. “You have no idea how true that is,” he said cryptically. 

BB-8 made them wait to exchange gifts until the exact moment when it turned New Years based off of Jessika’s calculations. Poe could hear him and the other two droids roll up. Finn and Rey didn’t seem to notice though, they were both too caught up in how adorable the pittins looked with bows wrapped around their necks. Poe was holding the yellow pittin to give to BB-8, and Finn was holding the green pittin to ‘surprise’ Poe with. 

On the dot BB-8 opened the door and rolled in with the other two droids.

Snap had done a good job of wiping the droids down. R3-B3 had a new clear dome covering its wires and its panels were all firmly attached.  R1-Z9 had a new paint job and had been realigned. They both beeped their hellos when they entered. 

BB-8 began to introduce the droids but was distracted from his task when he saw the pittin in Poe's hands. He rolled over, beeping excitedly. A small attachment reached out to stroke the pittin. BB-8 beeped in shock when he realized Finn had another pittin to give to Poe.

“Who are your friends, BB-8?” Rey asked. Poe realized she hadn’t connected the dots. Finn was also just smiling at BB-8’s reaction to the pittins, paying little mind to the two droids who were still standing at the doorway.

BB-8 made an embarrassed beep and quickly rolled back to them and introduced them both as “R1-Z9 and R3-B3, your new droid units.” 

“Stars!” Finn exclaimed. He knelt down to greet the droids, “Hi R1-Z9 and R3-B3, it's great to meet you both. I’m Finn.”

Rey also knelt down in excitement. “And I’m Rey. I’m so excited to show you our ship.

R1-Z9 immediately began listing off some of the ships it had served on in the past. Finn listened in awe, interjecting and asking questions as it did. 

Rey had her eyes on R3-B3. “I think I saw some parts for you at a shop earlier, we’ll have to go back together and see if they’ll work.

R3-B3 apologized for not having all of its parts. 

“What? That’s nothing to apologize for. That just means we get to have fun finding new and better parts together,” Rey said. 

BB-8 had gotten both pittin’s crawling on top of him while Finn and Rey were talking to their new droids. Poe listened to the excited exclamations and droidspeak interjected by the occasional loud purr from a pittin who’d found an attachment to attack. It was definitely the best New Years yet.

**Author's Note:**

> All feline species listed here were found on the wiki & yes, Leia really did name a pittin AT-AT when she was a child


End file.
